Thursday, February 23, 2006

All in the family

February 23

Troy Guard, the chef of nine75 in Denver, was cooking at the Beard House last night, and his publicist and wife, Leigh Sullivan invited me to come.I met Troy years ago, I think in 1999, when he was the young executive chef of Roy's New York at the Marriott at the World Financial Center (a restaurant you never hear about anymore, but it's still open; it closed briefly after September 11, but was open again by February 2002). I had Troy's food last year in Denver, when I took my parents to Zengo, where he was chef at the time. I was certainly happy to try it again at the Beard House. So I RSVPed in the affirmativeIs it true, Leigh Sullivan asked, that I'm a Colorado guy?Indeed, I'm a third generation Colorado Jew, and I told her so.A couple of e-mails later we realized that her daughter, Mackenzie, was in the same grade at Bromwell Elementary School as my second cousin once removed, Micah, and a year ahead of my niece, Tahirah.I don’t actually believe that it's a small world, but I do think we tend to run in pretty tight circles. Still, I think Leigh is the first graduate of Wheatridge High School that I’ve ever met. Wheatridge is on the West Side, and I don’t know a thing about it. However I did just learn from Leigh that the cheerleaders there were geeky and fat.Mackenzie cooked in the Beard House kitchen with her stepdad. Her grandfather, Jim Sullivan, is a partner with Troy in nine75. He used to have a restaurant in Denver called Mao, which I'd never heard of. He said it was Asian-fusion, very upscale — $80-$90 per-person check averages, which is crazy in Denver. He lamented that people would only come for special occasions. Well, yeah.He said Troy’s food at nine75 wasn't nearly as fancy as what he was preparing at the Beard House.It's pretty common for chefs to cook food at the Beard House that’s different from what they prepare at their own restaurants. I wish they wouldn't do that. I know Beard Foundation staff often works with chefs to tweak (or completely alter) their menus so they'll appeal to foundation members, but personally I want to know what chefs have to say for themselves culinarily, and I think that's best expressed by presenting the kind of food they make at home.That said, I always have a good time at Beard dinners (except for once, and I'll save that story for later).

I went to Mao, paid (once!) for it's overpriced crap on a plate and (smiling) watched it suffer and finally die. I have been to Nine75 which is the same overrated crap that the Sullivans (yes you can call him Troy Sullivan!) manage to churn out over and over again. And the new place OCEAN - what a joke that will be - will, I'm sure, be along the same lines. I wish the whole lot of them would curl up and die like that horrible sushi they served at Chairman Mao!

Hey Mao.... you are clearly a horrible person! You are so unkind! "You want us to curl up and die"- NO ONE has that strong of an opinion about a restaurant (or in this case 2 restaurants) UNLESS YOU had something do to with The Sullivan Restaurant Group. So, you are either a disgruntled ex-employee, or an ex- husband either way- GET A LIFE! Troy is extremely talented man and chef, and my father Jim is a gentle giant! We will be around for a LONG time- and I take GREAT pleasure knowing that will bother you! If you have something to say- other than the nasty bile you threw up on this blog; please email me at lsullivan@sullivanrestaurantgroup.com to discuss.

Wow, Mao, you seem to have some deep rooted anger issues about Troy, Jim, and their amazing restaurants- jealousy maybe?This restaurant group is bringing great new ideas to Denver matched with Troy's amazing food and really great service- you should support the small business owners and restauranteurs of this great city or get the hell out!

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About the Author

Bret Thorn

Bret Thorn is senior food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News with responsibility for spotting and reporting on culinary trends. He joined the magazine in 1999 after spending about five years as a journalist in Thailand.

A graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., Thorn also studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He studied in China for a year, too, and now lives in Brooklyn.